Finding things to be grateful for, while your life seems to be pointless and every cell in your body vibrates with either pain, fatigue or both, does not seem a natural or even a reasonable thing to do.

What is there to be grateful for? “I will be grateful when I get better!” Now, this thought resonates pretty well with the left brain’s logic, right?

So, why is it then, if we drop our attention deep within and keep quiet enough to listen to our hearts and souls, we would hear their whispers of despair: “But I want and need to be filled with gratitude! I am starved emotionally and spiritually without it! Please, help me to feel it!”

It is hard to feel… and yet it is needed to heal, to thrive, to experience life fully…. Continue Reading »

I don’t see it often mentioned in one sentence or even in one article, do you?

It’s seems to be a taboo in our modern society to speak of joy to a person suffering with depression.

Mention joy (or happiness, or positivity) as a way upwards and forwards, and you are doomed to be labelled rude, insensitive and “lucky” for not understanding depression even on a very basic level.

This “joy” idea may even cause some depressed people to explode with anger: “How dare you for interrupting my legitimate state of mind with this nonsense?! If I could experience joy, do you think I wouldn’t be doing it already?!”

We all get defensive over our beliefs. It’s totally human.

Being right seems to be more important than being happy, even in the situations where your life is at stake…

Very sad, but true…

It also seems that those who allow themselves to explore (rather than shut down) the possibility of a new way of thinking are the only people who can evolve and grow.

Those are the people who are prepared to do anything to overcome the debilitating grips of depression.

I sincerely hope you are one of them!

So, here I am, pushing you to explore the topic of “JOY”. And yes, I am fully aware how uncomfortable it might be for you…

Last week I promised to share with you what I consider a good diet when suffering with depression.

Please bear in mind that this is what I personally follow to keep my energy levels up and even, and my brain healthy, creative and vibrant.

These are my rules and I do not claim that everyone should/must/ought to follow them. Neither can I claim that if you religiously follow them, your depression would miraculously be lifted after a week or so.

I have studied nutrition for a few years now and I am very lucky to be learning from my amazing mentors who understand nutrition well and are based in four different countries across the globe (UK, USA, China and Russia).

I encourage you to use my rules as your tools. Use the best, discard the rest!

So, here are my rules of what and how to eat when recovering from depression:

Eat 5-6 small meals a day.

Food gives us energy: the very thing that depression takes away from us. So, it is vital to provide your body (especially your mind) with a regular and consistent supply of energy.

Just beware, that eating too much food in one sitting can deplete your energy (You have probably experienced it after a huge dinner). Digesting food is energy-consuming. Therefore, keep your portions small and eat often (every 3-4 hours during the day).

Note: a small portion should fit in the palms of your folded hands forming a bowl, without spilling over.

Do not attempt to go on a diet or change your food drastically all at once.

Depression recovery is not the right time to diet or lose weight.

Neither is it a time to throw your usual diet out of the window and load yourself with something “trendy”, portrayed by the media as a new magical cure for depression.

Yes, you can add or take away things over time, but doing it abruptly or all at once would send your brain haywire.

It can make you irritable in no time. It can lower your mood further and it can make you feel really bad should you decide to put a stop to this self-abuse.

So, please no dieting!

Warning: If you are a vegetarian or vegan, consider giving it up immediately until your depression is lifted! You job is to feed yourself properly to raise your energy levels to assist your recovery. As far as I know, it is very challenging to obtain all the needed amino acids, vitamins and heme iron, in particular, via vegetarian or vegan diet.

What can you do to begin to feel the vibration of love through you and all around you once again?

Well, let me reveal you a huge secret that took me years of depression to figure out:

your kind and loving heart is still intact!

It did not stop beating, get depressed or somehow stop working properly. It is still there: a generous, warm and ever so full of love heart!

Your depression somehow interrupted the connection between your heart and your brain, so that your brain can feed you the lies all days long. You get thoughts: thoughts that you don’t care anymore and no one else cares; thoughts that the world can happily exist without you and you can exist without anyone else too… Those venomous thoughts (as I can remember) are plentiful and never ending.

Do you have to believe those thoughts? Do you have to accept them as absolute truth, especially since they have originated in your own brain? Do you need to allow those thoughts to rule your life? Continue Reading »